Aberdeen Golf & Country Club (Boynton Beach, Fla.) announced a $77 million renovation this week. Plans include renovations to its main clubhouse, a new three-story north clubhouse and golf operations facility, a complete rebuild of its activities center and a new guardhouse. Construction is expected to begin in March 2027 and continue through October 2029.
That’s a big project. But the number that caught my attention wasn’t $77 million. It was zero.
Aberdeen says the entire project has been structured so members will not be subject to a capital assessment.
That’s an interesting detail to include prominently in an announcement about a renovation, particularly when the club hasn’t yet publicly detailed how it will finance the project.
We write about capital projects constantly at C+RB. Naturally, we tend to focus on what is being built and why. We talk about square footage, amenities, construction schedules and the member needs driving the investment.
But every one of those projects also has a second story. Someone has to pay for it.
There are a number of ways clubs fund capital investment, and assessments are among the most visible because members feel them directly. They can also become one of the most sensitive parts of a project that may otherwise have broad support.
Aberdeen didn’t simply announce that it was investing $77 million in its facilities. It made a point of saying that investment would happen without a capital assessment.
The announcement doesn’t explain the project’s financing structure, so there’s no reason to speculate about how Aberdeen got there.
But I keep coming back to the fact that “no assessment” was important enough to make the press release. A $77 million renovation is noteworthy. A $77 million renovation that doesn’t require members to reach into their pockets for an additional assessment is arguably even more so.
